In November 2016 the European Audiovisual Observatory has carried out a survey among the members of the Association des Cinémathèques Européennes. The objective was to assess the access to the film works in their collections in the context of education and research. 32 ACE members replied to the survey, representing over 1.1million film works.

The study “Access to film works in the collections of Film Heritage Institutions in the context of education and research” was part of a research project supported by the European Commission.” It can be downloaded HERE.

Following the success of the joint FIAF/ACE Workshop “Metadata Management in Film Archives: Putting the Cinematographic Works Standard EN 15907 to use and introducing the new FIAF Cataloguing Manual” (ZEM Potsdam, March 29-30, 2017), it was very clear that most film archives share a set of questions and problems that are worth discussing as a community.
The ACE Workshop traditionally organized in Bologna is the perfect occasion to continue this discussion and to delve deeper into some of the issues:
For many decades, the range of choices was limited: film archives’ databases were all more or less relational databases, simple, basic tools developed painfully for years… Metadata rules were simple, we just followed the FIAF’s Cataloguing Rules. If your archive was big and rich, there was one collection management software available for purchase, used everywhere… But now, all this is gone, leaving film archives with more questions and fewer answers …. What should a management tool for film and non-film collections look like in the 21st century? What should it be able to do? Shouldn’t we, as a community, find a way to create the tools we need?

Date: Tuesday, 27/06/2017, 9:30-12:30h

Venue: MAMbo (Museo d’Arte Moderna di Bologna), via Don Minzoni, 14

Registration: Attendance is to the workshop is free, but places are limited. Please register HERE

9:30“Extending the FIAF Moving Image Cataloguing Manual and FIAF Glossaries using LoD”
The FIAF Cataloguing and Documentation Commission has set up a Task Force to define and deliver an agenda to augment and extend the FIAF Moving Image Cataloguing Manual with Linked Open Data resources, and to transform the FIAF Glossaries to LoD. What are the objectives and where will the task force go from here?Stephen McConnachie (BFI), presented by Anna Fiaccarini (Cinteca di Bologna) and Bram Biesbrouck (Cinémathèque royale de Belgique) – Presentation (pdf)

10:00“Collection management tools for non-film collections”
How do archives currently store, archive and annotate non-film objects like magazines, pictures, clothing, objects, etc? How is the metadata managed? Is it linked to the film collection(s)? What kind of tools do we need?Anna Fiaccarini (Cineteca di Bologna) – Presentation (pdf)

10:30“Practical introduction to LOD and how to apply it to film archives”
Everybody is talking about LOD, but what is it exactly and how can it be used by Film archives? What’s the big difference with relational databases? What are the advantages of
linking to internal and external ontologies? An example of its application is the CRB new collection management for film and non-film, including long term digital preservation.Bram Biesbrouck and Bruno Mestdagh (Cinémathèque royale de Belgique)

11:00Coffee Break

11:30“A community-based approach, and benefits of sharing knowledge and development. Is this the way to go for our community of film archives?”

For years, archives have been developing solutions to manage their film and non-film collections, each one separately from all colleagues. Shouldn’t we change our approach and combine forces to create tools that are designed for and by the community?Nacho Lahoz Rodrigo (IVAC), Nicola Mazzanti (ACE, CRB) –Presentation (pdf)

12:00Wrap-up

Attendance is to the workshop is free, but places are limited. Please register for the workshop via: https://tinyurl.com/yaskrjvo or send an email to ace@deutsches-filminstitut.de

We are pleased to announce the final programme for the workshop “Metadata Management in Film Archives – Putting the Cinematographic Works Standard EN 15907 to use and introducing the new FIAF Cataloguing Manual”. It will be held at the ZEM in Potsdam, 29-30 March 2017.

discuss new concepts of managing, storing and sharing metadata in film archives, such as linked data and RDF

The workshop addresses individuals responsible for collection management applications in film heritage institutions, cataloguers and filmographers as well as information professionals from related cultural and media heritage communities.

Putting the Cinematographic Works Standard EN 15907 to use and introducing the new FIAF Cataloguing Manual. A joint workshop by the Association des Cinémathèques Europénnes (ACE) and the FIAF Cataloguing and Documentation Commission, 29-30 March 2017, Brandenburgisches Zentrum für Medienwissenschaften (ZEM), Potsdam.

Since its adoption in 2011, the Cinematographic Works Standard EN 15907 (“CWS”) has framed the cataloguing of moving images and the development of a number of collection management applications for film archives. A growing number of film heritage institutions adopt and apply the EN 15907 structure in their software applications. The tag “EN 15907-compliant” has become a selling point for software vendors and developers in addressing the needs of film archives. The standard was realized in union catalogues and aggregation systems, such as filmarchives-online.eu and europeanfilmgateway.eu. More and more, it is becoming key to sharing cinematographic work-related data between institutions.

During the first five years of working with the CWS, practical experiences have been acquired, challenges for its implementation have been discovered, and open questions have, inevitably, popped up. A survey conducted for a presentation at the FIAF Symposium 2013 in Barcelona showed that three film heritage institutions in Europe had finished CWS implementation, and five institutions were about to implement it. Since then, no systematic evidence of CWS implementation in film archives has been gathered. Hence, it is now due time for review, and for discussing the next steps.

EN 15907 is a central reference for the new FIAF Moving Image Cataloguing Manual (2016), which was created by the FIAF Cataloguing and Documentation Commission and the FIAF Cataloguing Rules Revision Working Group, and published in PDF and hard copy. The guidelines correspond closely with the EN 15907 structure and use associated terminology. Given this, the Manual serves as an important extension of EN 15907 by helping professionals create cataloguing or metadata records that will meet requirements of new database implementations and/or the adoption of new metadata standards.

With Linked Data concepts becoming more mature, new ways of storing and sharing data in film archives open up. Major aggregating initiatives, such as the European Film Gateway and Europeana are also undergoing rapid technological change, and strive for more effective ways to achieve semantic interoperability in the cultural heritage sector. At the same time, many film heritage institutions encounter technical and organizational challenges in adopting Linked Data concepts. The workshop will present the latest approaches and best practices concerning these concepts, and facilitate an open discussion on Linked Data in film archives.

9 November 2016 – In 2012, the Orphan Works Directive has been adopted with the aim to unlock hundreds of thousands of objects preserved in Europe’s libraries, museums, archives and cinematheques, to digitse and publish them on portals like the European Film Gateway or Europeana. How has this objective been put into practise? The conference, jointly organised by FORWARD coordinator CINEMATEK and the Royal Library of Belgium, brings together professionals from the library and the audiovisual sector, policy makers and Commission’s representatives to discuss the impact of the Directive and how it has been transposed into national law.

In the afternoon, participants are invited to discover new orphan works tools: the FORWARD system to support the rights status assessment of audiovisual works, and the Royal Library’s orphan works database.

Venue: Royal Library of BelgiumDate: 30th of November 2016, 9.30 – 16.30 h

You can access the programme and the registration form on the FORWARD website: http://tinyurl.com/z7oavr6Registration is free of charge, but upon inscription. Please register before 25th of November.

23 June 2016 – Raising passionate love for cinema and understanding why it needs to be preserved for future generations has always been at the heart of cinematheques’ activities. That’s why the 6th edition of the ACE workshop series “Management strategies for film archives in the digital era”, jointly organized with the ABCinema project, is dedicated to new approaches in film literacy. With the collaboration of the European Commission, AbCinema project partners (cinematheques and film education associations) and external experts we will present best practices from the project, discuss the role of film education at film heritage institutions,and try to find a common approach to some basical questions: What is our understanding of film literacy? What is our level of expertise? What are our aims and needs? How do we position ourselves among different players and concepts? How do we want to shape the discussion on film literacy on a European level?

Attendance at the workshop is by registration only. Available places are limited, so preference will be given to members of ACE. For more information and to register, please contact:ace.brussels@cinematek.be

26 June 2016 – This year, the European Film Forum (EFF) will take place during Il Cinema Ritrovato, the perfect location to discuss the values of film heritage and how to preserve, disseminate and exploit it. The forum brings together film archivsts, film makers, representatives from funding agencies and the film industry. It is organised by Creative Europe – Media in cooperation with ACE and Cineteca die Bologna.

The European Film Forum (EFF) was created by the European Commission in 2014 to facilitate a structured dialogue between the Commission, Member States and stakeholders in the European audiovisual sector. Its objective is to develop a strategic policy agenda, opening new perspectives and horizons for European cinema in the midst of new digital challenges.

23 June 2016 – EFG partners and interested ACE members are invited to join the EFG meeting, which takes place in Bologna on 28 June. The meeting is organised by Deutsches Filminstitut and ACE, both partners in Europeana DSI representing EFG. Aim of the meeting is to give an overview of the activities carried out under Europeana DSI 1, what are the tasks for the next funding period (July 2016 – August 2017), and to update on Europeana’s latest developments and strategic planning.